Blending and Word Formation Practice with Vowel Sounds for Pre-School Level 3

Class: Pre-School Level 3
Term: Second Term
Week: 8
Age: 4 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Literacy
Curriculum Theme: Language Domain
Previous Lesson: Recognition of individual letter sounds and vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u).
Topic: VOWEL SOUNDS: BLENDING AND WORD FORMATION PRACTICE
Subject Matter: VOWEL SOUNDS – Blending sounds – Word formation. Weekly focus: Vowel Sounds: Blending and Word Formation Practice.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Identify the five vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) when seen or heard.
• Blend consonant-vowel (CV) and vowel-consonant (VC) sounds orally.
• Form simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words by blending sounds.

Affective Domain

• Participate actively in blending and word formation activities.
• Show interest in learning new words.

Psychomotor Domain

• Point to specific vowel letters.
• Use letter cards to physically form simple words.
• Circle vowel sounds in given words.

Social Domain

• Take turns when practising blending sounds with peers or the teacher.
• Listen attentively to the teacher and classmates during activities.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 3
• Relevant Early Childhood Care and Education resources

Instructional Materials

• Letter flashcards (individual consonants and vowels)
• Picture cards for simple CVC words (e.g., ‘cat’, ‘sun’, ‘pig’, ‘bed’)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Crayons and paper
• Rhyme tapes or audio recordings
• Sound recorder (optional, for pupil self-assessment)

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is crucial for 4-year-olds as it builds foundational literacy skills by teaching them how individual sounds combine to form words. Understanding blending helps children decode new words, which is a key step towards independent reading. This skill connects directly to their daily experience of hearing and speaking words, preparing them for more complex language tasks.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can recognise and say the sounds of individual letters of the alphabet, especially the vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u).

Lesson Content/Board Summary

VOWEL SOUNDS: BLENDING AND WORD FORMATION PRACTICE

Vowel sounds are special sounds that help us make words. There are five main vowel letters:

• A a (sound as in ‘apple’)
• E e (sound as in ‘egg’)
• I i (sound as in ‘igloo’)
• O o (sound as in ‘orange’)
• U u (sound as in ‘umbrella’)

Blending sounds means putting two or more sounds together to make a word or part of a word. When we blend, we say the sounds quickly one after the other.

Examples of Blending and Word Formation:

1. Consonant-Vowel (CV) Blending:

• b – a = ba (as in ‘ball’)
• m – e = me (as in ‘me’)
• p – i = pi (as in ‘pig’)
• g – o = go (as in ‘go’)
• s – u = su (as in ‘sun’)

2. Vowel-Consonant (VC) Blending:

• a – t = at (as in ‘cat’)
• e – n = en (as in ‘hen’)
• i – n = in (as in ‘pin’)
• o – n = on (as in ‘on’)
• u – p = up (as in ‘up’)

3. Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) Word Formation:

• c – a – t = cat
• b – e – d = bed
• p – i – g = pig
• s – u – n = sun
• j – o – g = jog

Key Words

• Vowel – The special letters a, e, i, o, u.
• Blend – To put sounds together quickly to make a word.
• Word – A sound or group of sounds that has meaning.

Blending Sounds Rhyme

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

A, E, I, O, U,
Vowel sounds for me and you.
Put them with a consonant sound,
New words can be found all around.
B-a says ‘ba’, C-a says ‘ca’,
Let’s blend the sounds, hooray, hooray!

Actions: Point to vowels when named, clap hands for blending, mimic forming words with hands.

Watch and Practise Blending

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

• Demonstration
• Guided Practice
• Songs and Rhymes
• Picture Talk
• Question and Answer
• Manipulation of Objects (letter cards)
• Repetition
• Play-based Learning

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engagement/Revision

Teacher’s Activity: Greet pupils warmly. Begin by revising the five vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u) and their sounds. Ask pupils to shout out the vowels as you point to them on a chart or flashcards.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings and enthusiastically call out the vowel letters and their sounds.

Learning Point: Pupils recall the vowel letters and their sounds.

Step 2: Presentation (Vowel Sounds Review)

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Oral Practice/Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: Show large flashcards of each vowel letter (a, e, i, o, u) one by one. Say the sound clearly, then have pupils repeat the sound after you several times. Emphasize the short vowel sounds.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils repeat the vowel sounds after the teacher, focusing on clear pronunciation.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce their recognition and pronunciation of vowel sounds.

Step 3: Demonstration (Blending CV and VC Sounds)

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: Introduce the concept of “blending” as putting sounds together. Use two letter cards (e.g., ‘b’ and ‘a’). First, say ‘b’ then ‘a’, then blend them quickly to say ‘ba’. Repeat for other CV (e.g., ‘m-e’ = ‘me’, ‘g-o’ = ‘go’) and VC (e.g., ‘a-t’ = ‘at’, ‘i-n’ = ‘in’) examples. Ask pupils to listen carefully.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils watch and listen attentively as the teacher demonstrates blending sounds. Some may try to repeat the blended sounds.

Learning Point: Pupils understand the concept of blending two sounds together.

Step 4: Guided Practice (Blending CVC Words)

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice/Scaffolding

Teacher’s Activity: Now, introduce CVC words. Use three letter cards (e.g., ‘c’, ‘a’, ‘t’). Say each sound slowly, then blend them together to form ‘cat’. Show a picture of a cat. Guide pupils to blend other CVC words like ‘sun’, ‘pig’, ‘bed’ using letter cards and corresponding pictures. Ask pupils to say the blended word after you.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils actively participate by repeating the individual sounds and then attempting to blend them to say the CVC words with the teacher’s guidance. They match the words to pictures.

Learning Point: Pupils practise blending three sounds to form simple CVC words.

Step 5: Reinforcement (Rhyme and Video)

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Reinforcement/Engagement

Teacher’s Activity: Lead pupils in singing the “Blending Sounds Rhyme” with actions. Then, play the short educational video on CVC word blending. Encourage pupils to listen for the sounds and try to say the words shown in the video.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils sing the rhyme with actions and watch the video, trying to blend and say the words along with it.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce blending skills through song and visual aids.

Step 6: Application (Word Formation Activity)

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Application/Observation

Teacher’s Activity: Distribute sets of letter cards to small groups or individual pupils. Call out a simple CVC word (e.g., ‘fan’, ‘pot’, ‘leg’) and ask pupils to use their letter cards to form the word. Provide support and correction as needed.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils work individually or in small groups to select the correct letter cards and arrange them to form the words called out by the teacher.

Learning Point: Pupils apply their blending knowledge to form words independently.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4–5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. “What are the five vowel letters?”
2. Point to a letter card (e.g., ‘a’) and ask, “What sound does this make?”
3. Say two sounds (e.g., ‘d’ – ‘o’) and ask, “What word do these sounds make when we blend them?”
4. Show a picture of a ‘cup’ and ask, “Can you tell me the sounds in ‘cup’?”
5. Distribute worksheets with simple CVC words and ask pupils to circle all the vowel sounds they see.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate (e.g., saying sounds, blending words, circling vowels on a worksheet).

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Summarization

Teacher’s Activity: Praise pupils for their effort and participation. Briefly summarise that they learned to put sounds together to make words. Encourage them to listen for sounds in words around them.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and respond to praise.

Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their learning and feel encouraged.

Lesson Keywords

• Vowel – The letters a, e, i, o, u.
• Sound – What we hear when we say a letter.
• Blend – To put letter sounds together to make a word.
• Word – A group of sounds that has meaning.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils struggling with blending, provide more one-on-one practice with only two sounds (CV or VC) before moving to three. Use larger letter cards and clearer, slower pronunciation. Offer hand-over-hand guidance for forming words with letter cards.
• Extension: For pupils who quickly grasp blending, challenge them to identify more CVC words from picture cards or to create their own simple CVC words using the letter cards. They could also try to identify the beginning, middle, and end sounds in CVC words.